Finding Winnifred
by TheRogueParadox
Summary: He thought he was in love with Winry. When he meets Winnifred, he thinks he only loves her for the memory of the girl he loved. But there's something about her he can't help but like, something so different compared to Winry. But would falling for her mean betraying Winry? Post CoS EdxWinry, EdxAlter!Winry
1. Chapter 1

Finding Winnifred

Chapter One

It's hard to get clean during the day when you start your day feeling dirty. And that was what Ed felt as he stared at the ceiling. Dirty. He closed his eyes, slowly, as if that would somehow erase the memory. He didn't want the event undone, he just wanted the memory to go away, somewhere it wouldn't bother him.

He managed to crawl out of the bed. He looked at his clothes on the floor. He felt too dirty to put on new clothes, so he just put the old ones back on again, grimacing. Besides, he didn't really have any other clothes to put on, anyway. He was planning to go to the shower immediately after being dressed, but he paused, sitting on the edge of the bed.

It wasn't really his body that felt dirty, he realized. It was more of that his mind felt dirty, and he wasn't even sure why. He had thought he wanted this for the longest time. He should be laying in bed, being happy, smiling in his sleep and things like that. At least, that was what he had always thought he would do when he got to this point. Maybe he had been wrong? Or maybe he was just a making a big deal out of things? Maybe everyone else felt like this at the start too, and he was just being ridiculous. That had to be it.

With a sigh, Ed slowly stood up, intending to go to the shower. He ran a hand through his bangs. He was stressed, one way or another. He shouldn't be making such a big deal out of things that didn't need to be made big deals out of. It just stressed people out. Especially him. He needed to just chill and go with things. Do what he was supposed to be doing.

There was a rustle from the bed, and Ed looked down. A pair of blue eyes met with his, questioning. Oh, right. He wasn't really supposed to be climbing out of bed and thinking deep thoughts at sunrise. He was supposed to be cuddling and smiling in his sleep. He leaned down, putting his eyes at the same level as hers.

"I'm going to go take a shower," he said, trying to smile. "I just need to think. I'll be back... with breakfast?"

The blue eyes stared at him, then blinked. It was too early for her. Then a nod, almost like a child. Ed nodded back, and went to leave. No, wait, he was supposed to show affection. He turned back around and kissed her on the forehead. She flashed a big grin and settled back under the covers with a squeak.

He went to the shower, trying to figure out what he was going to do for breakfast. He didn't even know how one got breakfast this early in the morning when they didn't have a kitchen, but that was what you were supposed to do after having sex with someone for the first time. Right? He had to be helpful and stuff, right?

He shook his head and climbed into the shower. He had a hard time knowing. He hadn't had some dad around to teach him all this stuff on what a person is supposed to do when they have sex with a girl for the first time. Everyone just assumed that it would all come naturally. And he supposed they were right to some extent, but he was past all the stuff from the night before. This was so much harder to know what to do. He hadn't even really known what to do before, but it was at least easy enough to figure out. She had told him everything she wanted him to do, anyway.

The water was warm. He was strangely used to it after all his time using indoor showers in Germany, but he had almost been expecting the same freezing cold shower that he'd always had at the Rockbell house. But there was no way they'd be able to afford something "frivolous" like an indoor shower any time soon. Not unless Ed decided that he wanted four metal limbs instead of two.

Ed shook his head. That was in the past now. He wasn't a state alchemist anymore, and he didn't have money to just randomly throw at automail mechanics. He wasn't going to be able to just throw money at Granny and Winry and hope they would manage with it. Even the tiny amount of money he did have was in a currency they didn't understand. Winry had just given him a new arm out of the goodness of her heart. Though he supposed he had sort of paid for it in a way.

Ed grimaced at that thought. That hardly seemed fair. He wasn't some sort of prostitute that paid for autmail with sex. Winry would never even accept that, anyway. He wasn't even sure why that thought had come into his head. Granted, she had known a lot more of what she was doing, and he had felt a little pressured, but he had wanted this. He had been wanting it for years. He had been picturing it. So it wasn't like she had forced him into it or anything. He had even been the one to suggest. He just hadn't been thinking quite as... short term as she had been, apparently. He had been thinking a lot farther in the future, not that night.

Ed sighed and shook his head. He was happy. He had been trying to get back for forever, and he was happy. This was what he had been wanting, and he was going to be happy. He hadn't thought that his return would be greeted with Winry welcoming him into her bed, but he wasn't going to complain about that. It was what he had wanted. He had no reason to be complaining. No reason.

The water was starting to get cold. Ed looked up at the shower head. He didn't think he had been in there thinking all that long. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do for breakfast. But, one way or another, the water was getting colder by the minute, and he didn't really want to stay in there any longer than he had to. With a sigh, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

The towel that was waiting for him was soft and fluffy. Like most hotels in Central, this place kept itself nice. It was part of the competition. Hell, Ed didn't even know how fancy of a place he had run into last night. Everything had been a bit of a blur after the crash.

The towel was only just around his waist when Ed heard a loud crash from outside that made the entire building shake. After a moment of surprise, he bolted for the window. He couldn't see anything other than a trail of black smoke.

"Shit," he muttered, running back for his clothes and pulling them on as quickly as possible. "Shit, shit, shit."

He ran back into the room as soon as he was dressed. Winry was sitting up, wrapped in a blanket and looking confused.

"Ed...?"

"No problem!" he yelped while running over to the edge of the bed and shoving his feet into his shoes. "Just a little... shit." Winry looked worried at that, so he added, "It's fine. Just... something I have to take care of. I owe you a breakfast, okay?"

"Okay," she said, obviously still not comprehending. He gave her a quick wave over the top of his shoulder and then was out the door.

The streets were in pandemonium. People were running around as if they had found that invisible dinosaurs were roaming the streets. Ed paused in the middle of the chaos and stared up at the sky.

The profile of the ship through the dark smoke was unmistakable. Ed had thought that Eckhart's men had been close behind him, but he had thought when they didn't show up after a few hours that he was home free. He didn't think that they would show up a day later than him. But then again, time in the Gate was screwy. And he had managed to get through without getting stopped at all. He couldn't say the same for the big behemoths he had seen following him. Carrying large amounts of men and weaponry came at a price.

Ed ran in the direction of military HQ, his coat flaring out behind him. If anyone was going to be putting up a last stand against the foreign invaders, it would be the military, not to mention it would be the first place Eckhart's men would go for. It wasn't exactly inconspicuous, the big white government building right smack in the center of the city. It was as if they were asking for a big attack.

It was in his almost mindless pursuit that he managed to run head first into someone going the same direction as him. He had been so busy avoiding people that were streaming by the thousands away from the capitol building, that he hadn't thought to look for anyone heading in the same crazy direction as him. He hadn't really been thinking that there would be anyone crazy enough to head towards the danger instead of away from it.

He held a hand to his head with a groan, trying to regain his balance. When he opened his eyes again, he wondered why someone had put a mirror in the middle of the street.

Then he realized that he wasn't wearing a red coat any more. And the supposed reflection was staring at him with an open mouth. And something about the jawline was incredibly familiar.

"Brother," Al breathed, and then there was a pair of arms around his neck, with the crowd streaming around them. Ed was so dumbstruck, he had trouble pulling himself together enough to realize what was going on. His hand had only barely touched Al's shoulder before Al was pulling away again.

"Where have you been? Where have you been?! I been looking for you for forever! No one even believed me when I said you were still alive!" Tears were forming in the corners of Al's eyes. Ed was still too surprised to fully comprehend what was going on.

"Al," he croaked out.

The arms were around his neck again. This time he was a little more prepared, and he hugged Al back. He couldn't believe that Al was actually there, in front of him, after so many different dreams of finally finding Al, he hadn't thoughts he would just randomly run into Al on the street. First there was the different set of events with Winry, and now Al. It seemed as if nothing could go as well as it had in his multitude of daydreams.

Al pulled away again, with wet streaks down his cheeks. "The-The General will want to see you," he stammered.

Ed frowned. "The General?"

"General Mustang."

"Oh." Ed blinked. "General." He frowned. Things really had changed while he was gone. He wasn't sure why, but he had been practically expecting things to be exactly the same as when he had left. It seemed like a silly idea now that he was looking back on it, but it still left him shellshocked to see Winry wearing a bun like a grown woman, Al wearing his old coat, and Mustang being called a General. He ran a hand through his bangs.

"Brother, these machines... Everyone says it's _war_. Is it?"

Ed grimaced. "I sure hope not."

Al gave him a look that crossed the line between fear and pity. Ed wasn't really sure who Al was pitying, but he started heading towards the capitol building again. Whether Al followed him or not, he had invaders to stop. Even if Al didn't know how to deal with this sort of thing, Ed had too much practice, and he didn't entirely want Al to gain the experience anyway.

**Well, here I am with another story. This was a dream I recently had, and it's just been bothering and bothering me. So when I finally set down to write it, it ends up coming out longer than the oneshot I originally intended. So, maybe this will be a novella, but not too long. This story kind of has ended up being close to my heart, and has been really emotional for me to write, so please bear with me. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Fair warning, from here on out, it will be assumed that all characters are speaking German to one another, seeing as from here on out they're in Germany and all. That's all I have to say, though. **

Chapter Two

One year later—

Ed had heard plenty of romantic stories. The romantic scenes always happened somewhere cheesy, like on the beach, or in a candlelit restaurant, or something similar. He thought that was a pretty silly idea, because who is normally caught in those sorts of situations, anyway? When he had some sort of dream, it always happened somewhere he went regularly, like the library, or the park, or... the library.

That's why when he saw her there, in the middle of the isle in the library, he thought he was dreaming. The familiar face, familiar hair, hell, even her posture was familiar. That was why he winced and kept walking, cursing one too many late nights up reading. Obviously, it had to be a dream. Or worse, a daydream. An unconscious daydream? Who knew. Either way, he was being silly, dreaming of her in the library. He couldn't remember the last time he had heard of Winry going to the library. Unless they had a book on automail or something.

But he still couldn't help but duck back and look to see if she was still there. She was. She was reaching for some sort of book that was just an inch out of her reach. She jumped and managed to touch it, but still no success. Ed glanced at the shelf and grinned. Revenge was going to be sweet, even if he was in sort of a dream. He walked over to her.

"Hang on," he said, and then reached up around her and grabbed the book. He was only barely able to grab it, but he grabbed it all the same. With a triumphant smirk, he handed it to the blond girl. She didn't understand his glee, but he did, and it felt wonderful.

But then, as he stared at her, he realized that this couldn't be a dream. In a dream, it always felt wonderful whenever he saw her again, and it was always the Winry from his world. She always knew him, and always wore that stupid filthy work tunic. This girl didn't have any recognition in her eyes, and it hurt. His dreams never hurt. So she had to be real. Somehow. Even though the thought seemed crazy, he supposed it was inevitable that he would eventually run into Winry's double. He suddenly realized he didn't really want to be there if it wasn't just a nice, happy dream.

"Thanks," she said, trailing off as she looked at him. He nodded and went to leave. She paused, and he felt his eyes on the back of his neck. She wanted him to stay.

"I... uh... always liked taller guys," she said, hesitating in the words. Ed stopped in his tracks and stifled a laugh. Here he was, taller and having her throw herself at him. It really was another world. Nothing was the way he was used to it being. He turned back around. He couldn't help it. He couldn't ignore a phrase like that coming from Winry, even if it wasn't _his_ Winry.

"Is that so?"

She smiled and walked back up to him. Not really seductively, just a normal walk from a normal girl-next-door. She seemed genuinely interested in him, smiling like an old friend, and looking at him like she was trying to place something. Ed sighed and averted his eyes. For all he knew, maybe she _was_ trying to place something. He'd never really found out if the people in this world had any sort of mind connections to the people from his world.

"My name's Winnifred," she said, doing a quick glance of the pile of books in his arms. He wanted to retort with "I know," but decided to bite his tongue instead.

"So... you're into metaphysics...?"

"Ed," he finished for her with a sigh. "And I don't really believe in it, I just..." he trailed off. He wasn't really sure how to explain that what he had studied as science in his world was now magic in this one. How could he even say he didn't believe in "magic" when most of the people from this world would say that everything he used to devote himself to was magic?

She smiled at him. "You don't believe in it, but you're coming here and grabbing a pile of books on it?"

"Long story," he said with a wave of his hand, and turned to walk away. He didn't really like where the conversation was going, challenging ideas of magic and science. She trotted after him. He sighed and glanced down at her book. He had only bumped into her because she was in the section he was normally in, anyway.

"And what," he said with a laugh as he looked at the title. "You believe in... past lives, apparently?" She rolled her eyes and made a face.

"Maybe. But only because I've been having some really weird dreams lately."

He turned to look at her and quirk an eyebrow. It was a gesture that he was used to never getting anywhere with Winry, but to his surprise, Winnifred sighed and started talking.

"Well," she said, licking her lips, obviously trying to think of a good way to explain things without sounding crazy. "They might just be some old represssed memories, but... I don't know, they have this weird vibe to them. Like..." she paused and looked at him, and realized he was still there, listening, so she went on anyway.

"Well, there was this one dream. I remember this weird guy... It's funny, I can't even remember what he looked like, but I remember... I'm not sure, playing catch with him or something. Throwing something. I forget. And then these other weird images of... some sort of robot or something. And a mechanical arm. All sorts of colored wires and stuff. And magic... magic with blue sparks that—"

She stopped abruptly as Ed walked into a pillar, his books spilling everywhere. She snorted, then shook her head and crouched down to help him pick up the books.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh," she said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," he said, holding a hand to his head and picking up the books again as quickly as possible. "Blue magic that what?"

"What?" she frowned, helping him to his feet. "Oh! Oh, the blue magic. I dunno, nothing important. It... made some sort of doll or something. What?"

Ed shook his head, trying not to stare at her. "Nothing," he said, trying to brush it off. "Just... sounds like a weird dream, that's all."

"Tell me about it," she said with a laugh, looking down at her book. "I tried looking into all sorts of dream interpretation ideas, but nothing fits, so I thought maybe..."

"Maybe it didn't even have anything to with this world at all," Ed finished with a sigh. He looked back at her, and she was giving him the same look she had before, as if she was still trying to place him. This time, he was a little more sure than last time that she actually was trying to figure out how she knew him. At least, it sure sounded like her mind was connected to the Winry in his world. Which made her all the more painful to be around. He sighed and turned to go.

"Well, good luck with that," he said. She was obviously surprised by his sudden pulling away.

"Hey, I'm not crazy!" she said. He stopped and turned around to look at her again.

"I know," he said quietly. "I know. I've seen things that everybody else would say is 'crazy,' so trust me, I'm not one to judge. I read that book last week, anyway. I can't say who's crazy and who's not. I just..." he sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. "I've got a lot of studying to do."

"Oh," she seemed taken off guard by his answer. "Well... okay. I guess I'll see you around, then?"

He smiled weakly. "I'm sure you'll see me again at some point or another." And leaving it at that, he turned around and started heading off to his usual table.

"Bye," she said, uncertainty ringing through her voice. He waved a hand without looking back and said the first response that came into his mind, the same interaction he had been doing for years.

"Bye, Winry."

There was a pause as he mentally winced at his words, and she thought over it in surprise. Then she called out behind him, "It's Winnifred!" He had a hard time not laughing at that. Winry had always hated her name so much, and here her double was, insisting on it. He looked over his shoulder at her. Her face was red.

"Okay," he called back. "Bye, Winnifred!"

* * *

When Ed got home that night, the house was surprisingly empty. Or maybe it was unsurprisingly empty. He had known that Al would be gone for the weekend, and yet it was hard to come home and not have anyone there. Hell, it was weird to hang out at the library alone. He had known that Al had a job for the weekend for once, but it was just so lonely to try and function without having Al around. It was just plain weird.

After a half an hour of moping around, trying to figure out what to do, Ed decided to just throw caution to the wind and head down to the bar. But, just to be safe, he decided to only take a tiny bit of money with him. He didn't want to blow it all and have Al come back and get pissed with him.

The bar was where Ed went whenever he needed time trying to run from his thoughts. And whenever it got too quiet was when he started feeling the need to run. After running into Winry's double earlier that day, it was even harder to deal with the silence of home. And maybe someone he knew would be at the bar, anyway. He was just grateful he hadn't run into Mustang's double yet. He was sure that guy would be at the bar almost constantly to try and pick up chicks. Unless he was completely different from the Mustang Ed had known.

The bar was blissfully throbbing with chatter. Ed smiled in relief and slid onto one of the bar stools. He asked for a beer, the started glancing around to see if there was anyone he knew there. It didn't seem that the usual crowd was there, but he usually didn't have much free time on Fridays.

He had just taken his first sip of beer when he saw her across the room. His first thought was that he must be cursed. His second thought was that maybe he was seeing things, because _she_ certainly looked like a _he_.

But all the same, he had grown up with that face. That face had loomed over him one too many times with a wrench in hand. It was the same face that had cried when she learned what was inside his watch, the same face that yelled when Scar had blasted his arm, and the same face he had kissed and held before leaving the next morning. He knew that face. He wished he was mistaken, but he knew he wasn't, even when she was wearing a paperboy cap and her chest was flat, though he had no idea why. He frowned and decided to investigate, grabbing his beer and leaving the money for it on the table.

"Hi," he said, sliding into the seat next to her. She didn't look at him, she was too absorbed with her own beer. He hadn't seen many women who liked to drink beer, but the Winry he had known had always been a different type of girl anyway. She gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

"Wilfred," she said. He noticed how she tried to keep her voice low. Still, she could only pass for a boy, not a full grown man. Even he was mistaken for a boy instead of a man sometimes, and he was nineteen.

"My name's Ed," he said, and that caught her attention enough to make her look up at him. He could see the flash of recognition in her eyes, and maybe even the slightest bit of panic. He smirked at her.

"So," he said, leaning casually on the bar as he took a sip of his beer. "Mind if I call you Willy?"

"Wilfred," she said with a roll of her eyes. "What's with you anyway? You always going to try and nickname me?"

"Maybe," he said. It was so hard not to burst out laughing, and judging from her expression, she knew he was close to laughing too. And judging from the rosy cheeks, she had probably been here a lot longer than him.

"Why are you here?" she hissed at him. "Are you following me?"

"No," he said as seriously as he could muster, then took another sip of beer. "It's probably a miracle we haven't run into each other sooner, considering." He looked around the room. Things were getting a little fuzzy. That was always fun. He was used to seeing this room fuzzy, anyway.

"God," she muttered, looking at him and then at the beer. "How much have you had to drink, anyway?" He looked down at the stein in his hand in surprise.

"Me? Just this one," he said. "I'm still talking fine, what're you worried about?"

"Because you're rocking in your chair after... half a beer? Seriously?" she said, looking at him like he was crazy. "How low is your tolerance, anyway?"

"Pretty low," he drawled, turning back to look at her. "Don't you know? Shorter people always have a lower tolerance anyway." He paused and thought over his words. "Huh, maybe I am drunk."

She rolled her eyes and put her drink back on the bar a little forcefully. "I don't believe this, I go out to drink and some guy from the library shows up and gets drunk over half a beer." She reached out a swigged down the rest of her beer. "What am I supposed to do, walk you home?"

"Yeah, and then what would you do with me?" Ed said with a throaty chuckle. She looked over at him in surprise.

"Seriously? Are you hitting on me? I thought... At the library you acted like you wanted nothing to do with... that!" She was blushing and gripping her empty stein tightly. Ed sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.

"Nah," he drawled. "I didn't like _Winry_. I like you."

"Winry?" She blinked and stared at Ed. "What, you knew another Winnifred or something?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "But I don't want to talk about it. It hurt."

"So..." she paused and took a deep breath. "You were blowing me off because I reminded you of some girl you once knew who broke your heart and you couldn't bear to face it, but you actually like me anyway?"

He flashed her a big grin. "Yeah."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This might be considered immoral, and maybe I'll regret it in the morning, but... what the hell. You want to go somewhere with me?"

"Like where?"

"Like... a hotel or something," she said with a roll of her eyes and a grin. He grinned back at her and nodded. He didn't have anyone waiting for him at home, and unlike earlier in the day, being around her now actually felt good, not bad. He took a last swig of his beer and stood up with a wobble. She laughed.

"You really can't hold your liquor, can you?" she said, slipping an arm around his shoulders. He looked over at her with a sort of dreamy look.

"You know, you make a really hot boy," he said, and she shot him a look. She opened her mouth as if to ask him whether or not he liked boys, but then decided against it and closed her mouth.

"You know, I've never had a guy as hot as you like me before," she said, and he grinned at her. He realized somewhere in the back of his mind that he was grinning an awful lot. But why not? Everything just felt good, and things felt like they were going to work out. Why not be happy at that?

"I've had a lot of girls like me before," he said. She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, and you're modest too, huh?"

"But none of them were ever as cool as you," he finished, not seeming to realize that she had interrupted him. She looked at him, blinking. "I met you at the library, which means you like to learn. Then you were at the bar, which means that you're a rebel. And you're snarky, which keeps me in my place. And you're not an old friend."

"What's so important about that?" she said. "I thought being old friends with someone was a good thing." He looked over at her with a look so serious that he seemed completely sober for a moment.

"Not if it makes you feel guilty in the morning, it doesn't. Not if you can never go back to being old friends without feeling sick."

She frowned, thinking there was something deeper to his words than she knew of. But the hotel was right there, and for once she had a guy she liked willingly following her. She hoped she wouldn't feel immoral in the morning for bringing a drunk guy to a hotel, but she figured she could at least enjoy the night while it lasted.

**For the record, this story is rated M because there's probably going to be multiple sex scenes, the first of which will be coming next chapter. I only hinted at things with Winry because that was all that was needed, but Winnifred and Ed will have pretty important conversations in the middle of sex, so there'll be more detail. Just a warning. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading, I'll be back again soon, peeps. **


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